Planning Commission backs special-use grading permit for 6820 Crystal Hill with timeline, stormwater and restoration conditions

The North Little Rock Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend a special-use permit that would allow grading and site stabilization at 6820 Crystal Hill Road while imposing conditions intended to control stormwater runoff and restore vegetation.

Thomas Pownill of Thomas Engineering, representing the applicant, said the site was cleared previously for an entertainment project that was later dropped and that material—primarily darker-gray shale—has been removed from the property. “They still have dirt they would like to move,” Pownill said, and he presented a grading plan and engineering calculations designed to route runoff into a sedimentation pond and a detention pond to ensure post‑development drainage would not increase.

David Cook, the city’s chief city engineer, said his department previously halted work on the site after deviations from the original plans. Cook said the department requires that post-development runoff quantities not exceed pre-disturbance levels and that vegetative cover or other measures be established to prevent erosion; he added that stormwater permits commonly carry 12-month timeframes and that his inspectors would monitor the site. “I did shut them down months ago,” Cook said, and he described authority to revoke permits if requirements are not met.

Neighborhood speakers said the site’s clearing has produced ongoing mud and runoff onto Crystal Hill Road, with visible silt and damage to private property. Tiffany Montezzo, who provided Google Earth images, told the commission that trees visible on earlier imagery are now gone and said the neighborhood feels overlooked. “Please don’t mess with that,” Montezzo said, describing apparent ongoing hauling and visible muddy water in the street. KOA Campground owner Larry Clay said silt from the site has rendered part of his campground unusable and urged more frequent cleanup and stronger enforcement.

Planning staff clarified that the commission’s action concerns stabilizing and grading the site, not final development of any building, and noted that ADEQ (the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) retains regulatory authority over large disturbances and can require vegetative stabilization independently of local approvals. Staff said the proposed conditions include limits on grading, enforceable erosion and runoff controls, a restoration plan with replanting and a timeline for compliance; the record notes a restoration-tree requirement cited as 750 square feet in the conditions, and the special-use approval is limited to 12 months unless the applicant returns for an extension.

After public comment and discussion, the commission called for the question and recorded a roll-call vote in favor (Banks, Glasgow, Chambers, Foster, Phillips, Pierce, Robinson, Wallace and Chairman White). Chairman White said the recommendation will go to the City Council for final action and encouraged residents to follow council dates and attend.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the North Little Rock City Council for a final decision; the city engineer and planning staff said they will inspect the site and take enforcement action if material is removed off-site in violation of permit conditions.